Digital Narrative in Puzzle Video Games: How Narrative Affects Players’ Motivation, Enjoyment, and Emotional Demand

Narrative elements in games have been shown to influence players' emotions and motivation; however, their role in puzzle games remains underexplored. This study examines the impact of narrative on player enjoyment, motivation, and its potential role as an emotional demand in puzzle games. An experiment with 81 participants compared high-narrative and low-narrative puzzle games. Results indicate that while narrative did not significantly enhance players' motivation to continue playing, it did increase enjoyment and functioned as an emotional demand. Further analysis revealed that enjoyment primarily drove engagement in low-narrative games, whereas both enjoyment and initial interest influenced engagement in high-narrative games. These findings aim to fill a gap in the research on the role of narrative in puzzle games, offering insights for future game design and further exploration in this area.